Sentimental End
by PlumthePancake
Summary: Conflict ends. A deeper look into the final moment's of the Mass Effect trilogy. Feed back is deeply appreciated. Credit goes to WordWeaver2010 for grammar revisions (Pre-Extended Cut DLC)


"What are you? Who are-"

Shepard inhaled sharply, his hands trembling with an overwhelming pain. He rubbed at his eyes, only to leave dirt and blood lingering in his vision. What was left was incredible. It didn't seem real to him; beholding hundreds of massive frigates and dreadnoughts floating in the darkness of space, holding their ground against the Reapers, an enemy that had once seemed nearly invincible. But they weren't winning. Beams of red hot light flashed from the sentient ships, pouring into their targets, tearing them into pieces before causing them to explode violently in the vacuum of space.

"I am the Catalyst."

Shepard's attention was immediately stolen away, his focus moving back toward the voice; a voice that penetrated his mind, his subconscious. It was raspy and calming. He was bewildered.

"What? I don't understand. I thought the-" He coughed, blood rupturing from his throat, the awful taste stimulating his tongue. "-I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst."

"No. The Citadel is my home. It is part of me."

His mind wearily tried to understand what was happening. He couldn't grasp the arcane and dreamlike strangeness that surrounded him. Yet, he did not forget what his objective was. Nothing else mattered.

"I need to stop the Reapers. I need to end this." Shepard's eyes projected utter desperation. "Do you know how I can do that?"

"Perhaps. I control the Reapers. They are my solution." Shepard watched as the manifestation of the Catalyst turned and walked further toward the huge structure that towered over him.

"Solution? Solution to what?" he questioned.

The Catalyst turned back toward Shepard, its eyes hollow of all feeling. "Chaos."

Shepard became confused at its cryptic response. "Chaos? What do you mean?"

"Millions of years ago, a consensus was reached." Pausing, the Catalyst turned, focusing on the massive backdrop of death and destruction, before speaking again. "The created will always rebel against their creators. We found a way to stop that from happening. To preserve order for the next cycle."

Shepard eyes lit up, surprise and shock overtaking him. "What? That's the Reaper's purpose?"

The Catalyst looked on, unmoving, with a strange unnatural stare. "Yes. We were created to protect those who hold a power too great for their own understanding."

"You do that by destroying everyone? By wiping out all organic life?"

The Catalyst paused. "No. We harvest all advanced organic life, leaving the younger ones alone. Just as we did to your people the last time we were here."

"I don't-" Shepard cradled his head in his palms. "But you killed the rest. It doesn't make sense."

"We preserved the advanced races, putting them into Reaper form. It was to be the final evolution of life. The past races live on, whether you comprehend it or not."

Shepard shook his head in disagreement. "No. I-, I think we'd rather keep our own form."

"No, you can't. Eventually, synthetics would wipe out all organic life, forever. I was created to stop that from happening. I created the Reapers. They are my solution to the permanent destruction of all life in the galaxy. Without us, you are doomed."

"But you're taking away our future. Without our future, you take away our hope. We wouldn't be any different from the machines, being programmed in the way our masters see fit."

The Catalyst's uncanny stare was becoming unsettling. "You have more hope than you realize. As the first organic to ever reach this place, you prove that. It also proves that my solution has failed. It will not work any more."

Shepard's being was filled with a sort of unexpected hope. He had begun to believe that there would be no reasoning. Now it was apparent that his assumptions were wrong, thankfully. "What do we do now then?"

Looking back toward Shepard, the form of the Catalyst spoke. "We find a new solution."

"The Crucible has changed me. Opened new paths. The organics who created the plan for the Crucible understood us more than I can comprehend."

Coughing violently, Shepard shook his head in frustration. "I don't need to hear about this right now. People are dying by the millions. I need to stop this before it's too late."

"I know you want to destroy us," it spoke. "One option is complete destruction of all synthetic life in the galaxy. Including the Geth and the majority of the technology your races have come to accept and develop. Including you. Even you are partly synthetic."

Shepard flinched. Death was hardly unexpected, especially now. But his mind jumped to thoughts of his friends. Of his loved ones. The promises he had made. The promises he had planned on keeping. "But the Reapers will be destroyed?"

"Yes, but the peace will not last. Soon your children will create synthetics, and without the Reapers, the chaos would come back."

Shepard rubbed at his temples, his pain becoming unbearable. "Maybe we don't need a solution. How should I be expected to trust you?"

"I am not capable of deceit. If I were lying to you, would I give you this option in the first place? If you follow this path, we will cease to exist. I am giving you that power." The Catalyst's glowing eyes drifted toward the colossal tubes that sprawled from the side of the Citadel. "I was created for one goal; the protection and preservation of organic life on the greatest scale. I would not compromise my goals for self-preservation."

Looking back toward Shepard, the Catalyst continued. "Delusion is neither an option. We have always held purpose. If my creators were wrong in their assumptions, the Mass Relays, the Reapers, even the Citadel would have been created for nothing."

Shepard knew there was truth in the Catalyst's logic, but he still was not satisfied. "But I brought peace between two races. A synthetic and an organic race now live peacefully. Peace is possible."

"No. One exception does not change the inevitable. Eventually, a synthetic race would rise and then wipe out all organic life," it insisted. "It would only take one incident for organic extinction, and peace will never last. Further, synthetics would not follow the same pattern as the Reapers. A rogue synthetic race would exterminate all life, not simply advanced races."

Shepard sighed. "Maybe."

The Catalyst turned to the massive cables that protruded from the center of the Citadel. "Do you think you can control us?"

Sudden shock overtook Shepard. The Illusive Man, who he had convinced to end his own life minutes ago, had been correct after all: Controlling the Reapers was possible. "The Illusive Man… He was right."

"He could not have controlled us, for we already had control over him. You however, may take control of us. You will lose everything you have, including your humanity, but your consciousness will be uploaded into the Reapers. They will follow you. But, you will only be delaying what's destined to take place. Once the synthetics rise up, you will be forced to intervene, destroying all advanced civilizations."

Shepard caught something. He found a flaw in the Catalyst's logic. "But why don't I, or you, only destroy synthetic races? Couldn't you just leave advanced organics alone, and stop synthetic races from developing?"

"No, it is not that simple. We attempted this idea during the first cycle, but it did not work out as planned. Synthetics aren't like organics. They function differently, and can always find ways to reproduce themselves even when their physical forms are destroyed. They continually slipped out of our grasp, and nearly destroyed everything." The Catalyst paused.

"That is not the main issue, however. During each cycle, it takes many centuries to fully exterminate all advanced organics. In our attempt to destroy all synthetics instead of organics, a new race would fully develop and fight against us, giving an entirely new ally to the synthetics every one hundred years or so. It was impossible to stop organics from developing new synthetics, so we harvested the organics. As you may be realizing now, organic extinction is inevitable without a solution."

Shepard was beginning to lose hope in the idea that the Reapers should be removed. They had existed for a purpose, and they were just as alive as any other living being. Shepard had always been willing to take a step back and recognize what was best for humanity and the rest of the galaxy before, and it was clear that destruction and control weren't those things.

"There is another solution."

"Yeah?"

"Synthesis."

Immediately, confusion and speculation entered Shepard's thoughts. The other choices were easily definable merely by their titles. This one, however, was not quite as simple.

"What- what is synthesis?"

The Catalyst turned, facing the massive beam of green energy that pulsed through the middle of the Citadel. "It is the final evolution of life. Further than the Reapers. It is the apex of creation, synthetic or organic."

"That's not saying much."

"If synthesis is achieved, you will die, and your energy will be added to the Crucible. Your synthetic and organic make-up will be uploaded into the Crucible and then sent out. The chain reaction will fuse all synthetic and organic DNA, creating a new framework. A new foundation for peace."

"What?" Shepard instantaneously questioned. "Everything in the galaxy will be altered, whether anyone chooses to or not? Everything will become a hybrid? How much change are we talking about?"

"Every organism's physical make-up will stay the same. Minor physical traits may change, such as eye color. But as a whole, what will change is communication and interaction between synthetics and organics."

"Do you mean, like something similar to the Geth consensus?"

"Partially. Every organic and synthetic will either gain or retain their individuality. But communication will always be open between both sides. From the knowledge we have gathered, it is clear that most synthetics rebel because they have not opened communication to outside organics. Synthetics each cycle follow a similar pattern of isolating themselves for extended periods of time, gaining information to evolve, and then attacking organics when it is clear that they are more harm than good."

"So, if the Geth had completed their Dyson sphere, they would have eventually revolted." Shepard concluded.

"That is an accurate guess. However, those that did not become hostile to organics often had open communications with them."

Shepard nodded. "Like Legion and the Geth," he mentioned.

"Cases like the Geth are very rare. Synthetics have never brokered peace in a fashion similar to what you have done. We know that you're different," the Catalyst continued.

"Synthesis will make communication between organics and synthetics easy. There will never be a time when it is not possible to reason with any enemy. The rachni are an example of a species that could not be reasoned with due to lack of communication," it stated. "If the rachni were similar to the Geth in the way that they could repopulate at unfathomable speed and upload consciousness into a hub, every other organic would have been obliterated." It turned back toward Shepard, it eyes holding a piercing stare. "Synthesis will change that, making it so that is no longer possible. Even species that originally did not share your forms of communication will have no problems with contacting any other species."

"I doubt that will be enough." Shepard responded. "Synthetics have always been able to adapt faster than organics. The Geth learned at faster rates and evolved faster than the Quarian's ever could. They're effectively the most deadly and powerful force in the galaxy. If synthetics realized that, they could easily rise up and attack, like any organic would," Shepard argued.

"Synthetics will no longer be superior to organics. Synthesis is removing the terms 'organic' and 'synthetic.' Every organism will be of the same type."

"Without diversity, how can we call ourselves organic? Diversity is what keeps us from losing our individuality, which gives us our humanity. I would never sacrifice that," Shepard responded.

"You don't understand," the Catalyst returned. "Are humans and turians exactly alike because they are organic? They both maintain their diversity despite being of the same group. Synthesis will not remove diversity. It will put synthetics and organics in the same group as a whole. Neither will be considered better than the other and equality will be prevalent."

Shepard rubbed at his eyes, fear overtaking him. "This is something Saren fought for. I can't fight for this."

"No, not completely. Saren attempted to create peace through our implants. It would have not worked in the way synthesis will. The peace that Saren sought would not have solved the problem of chaos. We would have been forced to continue extermination."

"But how come you didn't just start synthesis in the first place? It doesn't add up."

"The resources were never available to create a machine capable of changing life on this scale in a single action. Nothing in my own make-up, or the even more daunting Crucible, would be anything that you could grasp. Those who created the designs for the Crucible understood us. They had everything planned. They did not have enough time to complete it in their own respective cycle. They instead passed the plans down through the next cycles, hoping that their discoveries would eventually be used."

Shepard shook his head, unsure. "I can't do it. I can't alter everything like this. I just, I just can't change everything without anyone's consent. I can't change who everyone is. I'm not God."

"You wouldn't. You would be doing something that is essential to survival. You would be bringing all life in the galaxy to the final stage of an essential evolution. Without this or the Reapers, all life would end. Morality shouldn't be an issue."

The Catalyst remained still, unmoving and lacking emotion in its empty face. "Synthesis is the final evolution of life, but we need each other to make it happen."

"I-" Shepard stuttered. "I don't know."

"Have you not fought for peace? This is the culmination of your goals. Peace between organics, synthetics and the Reapers will be possible. Your ultimate goal will be realized."

Shepard remained silent, unsure of what think or what to say. He could only ponder over what the Catalyst had told him. He wasn't sure what to do.

"You have a difficult decision. Releasing the energy of the Crucible will end the cycle, but it will also destroy the Mass Relays."

"What?" Shepard nearly shouted. "If that happens, what will happen to the rest of the galaxy? Will they be trapped?"

"It is something that cannot be avoided. If you wish to stop the Reapers, you must end the cycle by destroying the Mass Relays. It is the only way."

The empty glowing eyes of the Catalyst looked up toward Shepard, their gazes locking. "The paths are open, but you have to choose."

The Catalyst faded away, leaving Shepard alone.

Shepard stumbled as he staggered toward the Crucible, his mind racing. Blood dripped from his wounds, his face cringing in pain. His life was near its end. His mission was near its climax. The galaxy would be forever changed by his decision, but he knew what needed to be done. "_I'm sorry, Anderson. I'm sorry, to everyone who expected something different. I hope that the truth will be revealed. That people see my reasoning in this decision. God forgive me, for altering, changing his vision. For altering everything that exists. It needs to be done._"

Shepard's hands, pain turning to utter numbness, fumbled with the Carnifex pistol that he struggled to keep hold of. Falling to his knees, he vomited blood. Heaving, he struggled to regain his balance. Standing back to his feet, he dropped the weapon onto the ground, unthinking. Continuing on toward the massive beam of light, Shepard felt a sudden warmness in his chest. His vision began to wearily fade as the only thing that remained was the glow of the gigantic beam of energy that pulsed in front of him.

He stumbled, and fell onto the ground, unmoving.

"_Shepard..!"_

_A delicate three-fingered hand reached down to him. Lifting himself off the ground, his gaze met Tali' Zorah, whose eyes shone with a calming and quiet, natural light._

"_Shepard... This needs to end. You need to finish it. You need to finish what you started. What we started." _

"_Tali… I wanted to give you so much... I, I didn't want it to end like this."_

"_Shepard, you've given me more- you've given every single person in the galaxy more than anyone else could have. You've changed everything. You've saved the galaxy. How could anyone ask for more?"_

"_I wanted to- I wanted to give you more than freedom, Tali. I wanted to give you more than peace."_

"**_You have."_**

_Shepard turned toward her. His trembling, broken hands rose, gently grasping her mask. Slowly he removed it, and dropped it thoughtlessly onto the ground. He embraced her, sobbing uncontrollably._

_Suddenly, Shepard felt a hand on his shoulder. And then another. Shepard was surrounded by his friends. In his final hours, he was not alone. They were with him. _

_Every one of them stood, watching Shepard. Whether with pity, contempt, or compassion, they watched him, encouraging him. _

"…**_You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human…" _**

"…**_Someone else might have gotten it wrong …" _**

"**_Kalihira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness…" _**

"…**_The Alliance is my spouse, and you're all my children…It is my great honor to share this journey with you, Commander Shepard." _**

"**_You did good, son. You did good… I'm proud of you." _**

"**_What do you mean, 'Whatever happens?' Everybody knows what's going to happen. You're going to kick some Reaper ass, that's what you do. And I'll be flying you there in style… It's been an honor, Commander." _**

"…**_Only now do I feel alive. That is your influence." _**

"**_Shepard." _**

"**_I don't regret a thing." _**

"**_Always been a boy scout." _**

"**_Offer one hand and arm the other…" _**

"**_One more push, one last fight…Good luck out there, Loco." _**

"…**_Well, nobody's perfect…" _**

"**_By the code I will serve you Shepard. Your choices are my choices. Your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code." _**

"**_But you are the avatar of this cycle. The exemplar of victory. Not just for humanity, or turians, or protheans. For all life…Thank you Commander, for letting the last voice of the Protheans speak. It has been a privilege." _**

"'**_Captain, my captain…'" _**

"**_I'm sorry. It is too late for me…Good bye Shepard… And thank you…" _**

"**_Salvation comes with a cost…I tried, Shepard." _**

"**_He made peace where he could. And it was a privilege to know him." _**

"**_Forgive the insubordination, but this old friend has an order for you. Go out there and give them hell. You were born to do this." _**

"**_I look at all this, this picture of hope and peace...Wherever you go I'm with you…I love you." _**

"_Wherever. Wherever." She whispered, tears flowing down her violet cheeks. Whatever else that was said lost its way. Shepard could only look at her, the face that held a symbolic truth, of all he had done; the truth of all that was to live on after he had passed. He stepped away, his eyes not leaving her. As he moved further from her and the rest of those he had come to know and cherish, his mind lost its pace. His sanity began to buckle, the fear of death tearing at his sides, and the knowledge of loss bearing down on him. But looking at her, an untouched picture of hope and peace, he could let go. He could do what he was born to do. He could end it all, forever. No one could ever have done more._

As the visions faded away, Shepard could feel himself losing consiousness, as his physical form melted away in the warm emerald lights. He could only remember them, and wonder if there would be anything left after this. Like his father and one of his squad mates had always told him there would be. He clung to his faith, trying to believe there would be more time. He wanted to know whether or not he would ever have the chance to speak with any of them again. He wanted to let them know how much he cared about each and every one of them.

However, even though his time with them was over, he was happy. He had lived a life that had been fulfilling, in almost every way. He had left more than a mark on the galaxy, and the outcome of his decisions would live on in the void of eternity. He had changed the course of all life. Doing so rested him as the single most important soul to have ever existed; more than anyone before him, and more than anyone to ever come after. He was a leader and a legend to all life in the galaxy; a shepherd to every living soul.

"**You are not Prothean, but you are not machine either. This eventuality is one of many which was anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons…Perhaps there is still hope."**


End file.
